Armageddon (2003)
Armageddon (2003) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on December 14, 2003 at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Florida. It was the fourth Armageddon event and included talent from the Raw brand-exclusive event. The main event was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Kane, Triple H, and champion Goldberg. Triple H won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Goldberg following a chokeslam from Kane. The undercard included Randy Orton winning the Intercontinental Championship from Rob Van Dam and Shawn Michaels defeating Batista. The event grossed US$450,000 with 9,000 ticket sales and received 200,000 pay-per-view buys. The event was claimed to be a "flop" by Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling event section. They rated the overall event a six out of ten. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of second on Billboard DVD sales chart for recreational sports. It remained on the chart for four consecutive weeks. Storylines he main feud heading into the event was between Goldberg, Kane, and Triple H over the World Heavyweight Championship. In November, at Survivor Series, Goldberg retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H. The night after Survivor Series, Kane, who buried his brother The Undertaker alive, became involved in the feud between Goldberg and Triple H after attacking Goldberg following a Handicap match. The following week, on the November 24 episode of Raw, Kane interfered in a match between Triple H and Goldberg. After the match, General Manager Eric Bischoff scheduled Goldberg to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Kane in a Triple Threat match at Armageddon. Another primary feud heading into the event was between Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam over the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Van Dam won the title on the September 29 episode of Raw by defeating then-champion Christian. On the November 17 episode of Raw, during a match between Ric Flair and Van Dam, Orton interfered and executed an RKO on Van Dam. Later that night, Orton was granted an Intercontinental Championship match against Van Dam at Armageddon. On the December 8 episode of Raw, Co-General Manager Mick Foley appointed himself as the special guest referee for the match. One of the predominant matches on the card was Batista versus Shawn Michaels. Their feud first started when Batista attacked Michaels during his elimination match at Survivor Series, with Steve Austin's career on the line. On the November 24 episode of Raw, Eric Bischoff scheduled a match between the two for Armageddon. Later that night, Michaels and Chris Jericho defeated Batista and Ric Flair in a tag team match. Towards the end of the match, Jericho turned on Michaels and superkicked him. Michaels landed on Flair as a result and got the pinfall to win the match for himself and Jericho. After the match, however, Batista executed a powerbomb on Michaels. Aftermath Randy Orton defeated Rob Van Dam at the event to begin his first reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion, which lasted seven months, the longest reign in over seven years at the time. Orton began feuding with Mick Foley following the event. At the Royal Rumble, Foley eliminated Orton from the Royal Rumble match. After being eliminated, Orton hit Foley with a chair and attacked Foley up the entrance stage. Orton pinned Foley in a Handicap match at WrestleMania XX, and defeated him in a Hardcore match to retain the title at Backlash 2004. Orton finally dropped the title to Edge in July 2004. Triple H started to feud with Shawn Michaels. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H and Michaels fought to a draw in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The two faced off again, as part of a Triple Threat match, at WrestleMania XX. Chris Benoit, the other participant in the match, forced Triple H to submit to the Crippler Crossface to win the title. Benoit ended the storyline between the three at Backlash, when he defeated Michaels and Triple H in another Triple Threat match. Batista and Ric Flair's first World Tag Team Championship reign lasted three months, as they lost the titles to Rob Van Dam and Booker T in February. Christian defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XX. After the match, Trish Stratus, Jericho's on-screen girlfriend at the time, turned on Jericho and joined Christian. Jericho, however, went on to defeat the two in a Handicap match at Backlash to conclude their storyline. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * Armageddon Category:Armageddon Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2003 Pay-Per-View Events